Become My Slave
"Thank you for your help, Lady Athena."
Robin forced himself back to his feet as he spoke. His body was a wreck of wounds—nothing anyone could call good condition—yet his eyes still burned, unbroken and bright.
"Don't mention it. I only came because I was bored."
She wrenched her sword free from the massive beast's corpse as she answered. Blindingly beautiful and terrifyingly strong—the strongest human in the Empire. Athena. Her eyes held the light of the sun itself, yet somewhere in them lingered a quiet, weary boredom.
"No. Because of you, we were all able to complete the commission safely. I will repay this debt without fail."
"Really?"
"Yes."
At Robin's words, Athena smiled and slowly stepped closer. Then she lifted a pale finger and held it before his eyes.
"Your eyes. I like your eyes. Will you give them to me?"
Robin recoiled in shock, stumbling backward.
"...Excuse me?"
"Heh... I'm joking. Why so startled?"
"I—I'm sorry."
"Hmm. Forget it. Just keep fighting for the world. That's repayment enough."
Leaving only those words behind, she drifted away as lightly as she had come.
Besides... what I truly wanted no longer exists in this world.
— The Indomitable Hero! Chapter 142 (Middle)
"W-what did you just say?"
"Oh my. You didn't catch that?"
Athena pointed straight at me and repeated herself.
"I said become my slave. You."
Is this woman insane?
She shows up out of nowhere and the first thing out of her mouth is become my slave. I should have questioned my own ears from the start. Why? Why on earth would she tell me to become her slave? Had the original owner of this body owed Athena some enormous debt? If not, nothing about this situation made the slightest sense.
"...Are you in your right mind?"
Having failed completely to grasp her intent, I decided to ask her directly. Even after my aggressive wording, she answered as if nothing were wrong.
"I've never been more clear-headed than I am right now."
"You appear out of thin air and tell someone to become your slave. Only a lunatic would do that."
"Ah. From your perspective, I suppose this is rather startling. Sorry."
As if something had just clicked, she apologized—then opened her mouth again.
"I'll say it properly this time. I fell for you at first sight. Become my slave."
What part of that was supposed to be proper? Did people normally tell someone they liked to become their slave? No—more fundamentally, what possible reason could she have to fall for me? I had seen her face for the first time today. The same had to be true for her.
As my confusion deepened, she spoke once more.
"Did you know?"
"...?"
"I've said the same thing three times now."
"Ah—!"
That feeling again. The bone-deep, crawling sensation that my own body was screaming at me to run. Fresh terror surged up, and I scrambled backward, putting distance between us.
"I'd like an answer sometime soon."
Forget it.
Trying to understand her behavior right now was a lost cause. Slave or not—there was only one thing I needed to care about.
"Say something that actually makes sense. I have no intention of becoming your slave."
Not getting involved with her. I steeled my heart and looked her straight in the eye. Athena simply smiled back at me, soft and sweet.
"Think it over again. If you become my slave, you'll live a far better life than you do now."
"A better life?"
"Mm-hm. Not some poor little neighborhood like this—I'll put you in a proper house and let you eat and dress as finely as you please."
As if that weren't the end of it, she lifted a finger and kept going.
"Any jewels you want, take as many as you like. Anything you want to do, do it. As long as you're in my mansion, you'll live a life everyone else envies."
"And in exchange, just one thing. Obey only me. Sound nice, doesn't it?"
Athena was talking like some rich old nobleman. On the surface, it didn't sound bad. Coming from her, it definitely wasn't a joke. As the so-called hero of the Empire, her wealth had to be beyond imagination. She could easily keep someone like me living in luxury for life without ever lifting a finger.
If this had been me before the transmigration, I might have accepted without a second thought. A peerless beauty like Athena taking devoted care of me? Wasn't that every person's dream?
But the me of now had zero interest.
This was the world inside the novel The Indomitable Hero. And she was unmistakably one of that world's masterminds. The moment I followed her, the story would spin completely out of control—and that was the last thing I wanted.
And more than anything else—
I can't leave Dania and Lily behind.
I made a promise. That I would protect Dania. That I would protect Lily's smile. I locked my resolve in place and spoke to her.
"I don't know why you want me that badly, but... thank you for the offer, at least."
Her eyes widened, bright with delight. She must have thought I was accepting.
"Good choice! Then first, the brand—"
"But I'm sorry. I'm not leaving this place."
At my words she stared at me blankly for a moment. The smile on her face slowly drained away.
"Why?"
"Because someone precious to me is here."
The first family-like bond I had ever gained. I had no intention of letting it go.
"...Hmm."
One of her eyebrows arched upward, clearly displeased. The air around us began to change. As if reflecting her mood, the atmosphere grew colder by the second. I waited quietly for her reply. She considered for a moment, then put a smile back on her face.
But I could feel it. That smile did not mean anything good for me.
"Hera. There's one thing you're mistaken about."
Athena held out her hand toward me.
"I didn't come here to make a proposal."
"You—!"
"I came here to take you."
Golden mana burst from her hand and flew straight at me. The instant I saw it pouring toward me, my body moved sideways on pure instinct. Where I had been standing, a snare of magic clenched shut around empty air as if seizing the void itself. If I hadn't dodged, it would have been my body caught in that grip—not the air.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
I glared at Athena, sharp and furious. She looked back at me with a thin, wicked smile.
"A slave who won't listen needs to be educated, doesn't she?"
"Stop calling me a slave already!"
I shouted at her—but what came back wasn't an answer. It was the same magic as before. I kicked off the ground and threw myself far backward to evade. This time, though, she refused to let me get away. In a blink Athena appeared right in front of me and clamped her hand around my throat.
"Ghk—!"
"We'll start by fixing those eyes of yours. You shouldn't look at your master with an expression like that, should you?"
She lifted her hand, and my body rose with it. The moment my feet left the ground, my breath began to choke off.
"Khh—! Hhk—!"
"Our Hera... be a good girl and make pretty eyes for me, hmm?"
As the oxygen ran out, heat flooded through my body. The terror I had felt toward her was slowly twisting into raw fury at this absurd situation.
I don't care anymore.
I hiked one leg up and drove a kick straight into Athena.
"...!"
Her body went flying backward. Freed from her grip, I planted both feet on the ground again.
"Cough—! Haah... hhh..."
As air rushed back into my lungs, my mind finally cleared.
I still can't let my guard down.
I had kicked with enough force to shatter an ordinary person on the spot—but she was the strongest human in this world. A blow like that wouldn't even have left a scratch.
As if answering my thoughts, her voice drifted over.
"Come to think of it... you said you were a Unique Ability user, didn't you?"
She brushed the dust off the spot I'd kicked as casually as if nothing had happened. I dropped into a stance, ready for her next attack at any moment.
"Sorry, Hera. Looks like I'll have to handle you a little more roughly."
With those words, Athena drove her foot into the earth—and vanished from my sight. But my ability didn't merely boost raw strength. It dramatically elevated every physical faculty. Including instinct.
Right side—!
I snapped my head to the right and saw a fist screaming toward me. Not an ordinary fist—one packed with high-density mana. I reacted instantly and threw up a guard.
BOOM! The impact slammed through me. But the damage was lighter than expected. Without pausing, I whipped a kick into her side—only for my foot to stop dead against something invisible. Looking closer, I saw layer upon layer of tiny magic circles stacked over her body, shielding her.
"You need to focus on me, Hera."
At Athena's words I jerked my gaze back—and found both of her hands stretched toward me.
"Bind."
I tried to break free, but the hands holding me locked my retreat. Papapak— like rain, swords poured down from the sky and ringed my body. Then the blades resonated with one another, and something crushing and heavy pressed down on me from every direction.
"Ah... nngh—"
Under that smothering weight, my knees hit the ground. I struggled to rise, but the harder I fought, the stronger the force became.
"You look so pretty when you're this obedient."
Athena gently stroked my chin with one finger.
"Grrh...!"
Something about it stung my pride raw. This time I poured every ounce of strength into my legs.
And then—
Crack—
The sound of something shattering. Athena's eyes flew wide in genuine shock.
"Even a Giant Drake couldn't budge this barrier..."
I ignored her muttering and kept concentrating power into my feet. Second by second, the crushing force began to loosen. If I kept this up, I really might break free.
Just a little more—!
But then—
"Sleep for a little while, Hera."
She laid her hand on my head. A sound like a massive bell being struck rang through my skull—and my vision went black.
She was gone.
Hera—unnie—who had been standing right beside her only moments ago. With a single gesture from the hero, she had vanished along with her.
"U-unnie!! Hera unnie is—!"
Lily looked to her own sister and found her just as lost, just as badly shaken, with no idea what had happened.
She was afraid.
The dread that had been coiling in her chest ever since she first heard that the Empire's hero was looking for Hera. For some reason it felt as if the person she loved was about to be stolen away, and Lily's body began to tremble hard.
Unnie... where did you go...?
Lily forced her shaking body to still.
"I-it's okay... Unnie said so, didn't she..."
That she wanted to see the grown-up version of me. That she would protect me and my sister. That she would never leave me.
As the ominous feeling swept through her, something dark and viscous deep inside Lily's heart began to swell larger and larger.